A new connection from Lenze

28 April 2009

Two years ago at Hannover Messe 2007, Lenze presented for the first time the seamless integration of PC-based control systems into its L-force automation strategy. The industrial PCs were the result of its acquisition of Digitec. This year the company is showing another aspect of its determination to supply the complete automation system, with the introduction of its own in-house developed and manufactured I/O system.

Thomas Maschler, head of product management, controls
Thomas Maschler, head of product management, controls

Thomas Maschler, head of product management, controls, says it is another step on the way to move his company from being a drives specialist to becoming a solution provider and system partner.

Called the “L-force Controls I/O System 1000” the slim design 12.5 mm DIN-rail modules allow for the connection of up to eight 2.5 mm2 cables to be squeezed into a single module, which appear to be about 20% smaller than comparable Siemens modules.

The tag line is “user-oriented connection technology,” meaning that the inner workings of the new I/O system are easy for end users to handle. The modular system is designed to protect against polarity reversal, and the plug-in electronics allows faulty modules to be exchanged without removing the wires.

Lenze says its labeling and diagnostics display with its bright LEDs are designed so that they can be easily read in a poorly lit control cabinet. Each channel-LED is uniquely assigned to a labelling field. In this way, three main features—diagnostic ability, readability, and labeling—are brought together in an optimum configuration in the smallest of spaces.

Mr. Maschler also thinks users will appreciate the stepped form of the connection level with tension-spring technology for connecting the wires.

Although exact specifications weren’t released, the company says it is suitable for real-time architectures because it “meets even highest speed requirements” by “combining a minimum internal cycle time with a time stamp.”

There are the standard bus couplers for CANopen and PROFIBUS, as well as for EtherCAT.

With the pluggable electronics, modules can be quickly changed whenever service or maintenance work is performed. The station can be assembled completely without tools, and up to 64 modules can be configured—in any order—to form a station. The modules are plugged into each other using the integrated backplane bus, so there is no separate backplane bus.


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